Nebraska 67 Illinois 58
Player of the Game:
Shavon Shield- The sophomore forward was brilliant tonight.
He did everything. Drove to the bucket. Hit mid-range jumpers. Knocked down
3-pointers. Made every free throw he took. He had a career-high 33 points, and
the Huskers needed every bit of those points. He played with fire and passion
that Nebraska needed after slow starts to the first and second half. Without
Shields’ performance tonight, Nebraska wouldn’t have won tonight.
Key Stat:
Shooting Percentage- Illinois came out shooting at a
blistering rate, making three of its first four 3-pointers. The Illini made
just one more shot from behind the arc the rest of the game. On the other side,
Nebraska started out poorly on offense. However, it rallied to shoot a decent
44 percent, while holding Illinois to 37 percent in the game. The Illini didn’t
have open looks in the second half and that proved to be the different in the
game.
Play of the Game:
Shields had a bunch of big plays, but the biggest play came
from Walter Pitchford with just under eight minutes to play in the game. He hit his only 3-pointer and gave
Nebraska a 52-47 lead. That sparked a 10-2 run that gave the Huskers a 59-50
lead, putting the Illini away for good. Shields was the best player Wednesday,
but Pitchford hit the biggest shot.
Other Notes:
-Shavon Shields 15-of-15 from the free throw line tied a
school record in free throws made in a game.
-Shields scored a career-high 33 points. His previous high
was 29 last year at Penn State.
-Walter Pitchford failed to score in double figures for the
first time in five games.
-Nebraska has won five of its seven games.
-The Huskers have now won two straight Big Ten games twice
this season after never doing so before this season.
-Nebraska's win gives them five in conference play, tying its total from last season.
Thanks for reading! Check out tomorrow's game story in the Daily Nebraskan.
Reach me at: award6344@gmail.com
Follow me on Twitter and Instagram: @_andrewward
No comments:
Post a Comment